Method and apparatus for producing tufts of hair or bristles

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a method of and apparatus of producing tufts of hairs or bristles using a perforated plate and apparatus for use in such a method. The hairs or bristles are introduced from a bundle into holes in the perforated plate using ultrasonic vibrations to facilitate the insertion. Ultrasonic vibrations can also be used to shape the tufts to a desired profile prior to setting the hairs or bristles with a binder. The method and apparatus for use therewith have been found of particular value in producing brushes from fine hairs and bristles.

United States Patent Blankschein [76] Inventor: Werner Blankschein, Ohlauerstrasse 2, 8 Munich 50, Germany [22] Filed: Oct. 17, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 298,251

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Oct. 20, 1971 Germany 2152290 T May 5, 1972 Germany 2222152 [52] US. Cl. 300/21, 300/19 [51] Int. Cl A46d l/lO [58] Field of Search 300/19, 21

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,413,211 4/1922 Albright, Jr 300/21 2,488,873 11/1949 Maynard 300/21 3,136,582 6/1964 Lochr et al. 300/19 3,471,202 10/1969 Lewis, Jr 300/21 X 3,499,686 3/1970 Landen et a1 300/21 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING TUFTS OF HAIR OR BRISTLES FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 705,364 3/1954 Great Britain 300/21 Primary ExaminerGranville Y. Custer, Jr. Attorney, Agent. or FirmMelvin A. Crosby [57] ABSTRACT The invention relates to a method of and apparatus of producing tufts of hairs or bristles using a perforated plate and apparatus for use in such a method. The hairs or bristles are introduced from a bundle into holes in the perforated plate using ultrasonic vibrations to facilitate the insertion. Ultrasonic vibrations can also be used to shape the tufts to a desired profile prior to setting the hairs or bristles with a binder. The method and apparatus for use therewith have been found of particular value in producing brushes from fine hairs and bristles.

15 Claims, 13 Drawing Figures METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING TUFTS OF HAIR OR BRISTLES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to methods of producing hair and/or bristle tufts from bundles of hairs or bristles, using a perforated plate into which the root ends of the bundles are inserted, the bundles thereby being divided into a number of tufts corresponding to the number of perforations in the plate, the root end of each tuft being secured by a binding agent, and apparatus for use therein.

Apparatus for carrying out such a method has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,136,582. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,136,582, after lateral removal of a support plate, bristles are allowed to fall freely onto a perforated plate and by virtue of upwardly diverging V-shaped walls, the bristles become distributed over the individual holes into which a liquid synthetic resin has first been introduced. After setting, the tufts are withdrawn from the individual holes.

Since only the force of gravity is available in this freefall apparatus for dividing the bundle into tufts and insertion of the root ends into the liquid adhesive, the use of this prior art method and apparatus is confined to relatively heavy bristles and is defective in respect of fine bristles, such as hairs, particularly in the manufacture of tufts for fine hair brushes. Also, in the patent referred to a desired tuft contour can only be subsequently achieved, by a mechanical method such as cutting. The valuable tips of the bristles are, however, cut off and this results in wastage. Due to the foregoing, fine bristle, or hair, brushes have heretofore been made by laboriuous and expensive manual procedures.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved method of producing tufts of hairs and bristles and apparatus for use therein.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the invention there is provided a method of producing tufts of hair or bristles the method comprising the steps of:

1. aligning a plurality of hairs or bristles to form an orientated bundle thereof;

2. ultrasonically vibrating the bundle whilst dividing the bundle into a plurality of tufts whereby the tufts are formed in fixed spacial relation one to another;

3. ultrasonically vibrating the plurality of tufts while engaging one end thereof whereby the relative positions of the hairs or bristles in any one tuft are altered to establish a desired tuft profile;

4. applying a binding agent to one end of the tufts;

5. setting the binding agent to form coherent tufts;

and

6. releasing the tufts from their fixed spacial relationship.

Further according to the invention there is provided a method of and apparatus for producing tufts of hair or bristles from a bundle of hair or bristles which method comprises inserting the bundle having a root end and a free end, root end foremost into holes in a perforated plate whilst ultrasonically vibrating the bundle, contacting the root end of the hairs or bristles with an ultrasonically vibrated pin-carrier plate, the pincarrier plate having a pattern of pins corresponding to the perforations in the perforated plate and the pins having a profile corresponding to that desired for the tufts, thereafter contacting the root end of the thus shaped tufts with a liquid binder, solidifying or hardening the binder, and ejecting the resulting tufts from the perforated plate using an ejector plate having a plurality of pin members in positions thereon corresponding to the positions of the tufts in the perforated plate.

Instead of the force of gravity, used in the prior art free-fall apparatus, ultrasonic vibrations are used to sub-divide the bundles into tufts during insertion into the perforated plate. Therefore, one is not limited to the force of gravity on the bristles and. instead, the intensity of the vibrations can be adjusted to whatever degree of vibration is desired. At the same time. the ability to use hairs and bristles of fine structure is of considerable importance. Hairs are generally not smooth but have individual projections and peripheral irregularities, particularly barb-like projections. In consequence, friction between the individual hairs is relatively great and relatively large single-acting forces can be resisted.

Using ultrasonic vibrations, however, these resistances can be reduced and only relatively small forces are generally required to insert the hairs relatively easily into the perforated plate.

Once the bundle has been divided into a plurality of tufts, the individual tufts can be further processed in conventional manner. However, it is advantageous for the tufts inserted into the perforated plate to be brought to the desired contour, their root ends then secured with a binding agent and only then to eject them from the perforated plate as completed tufts.

As mentioned above, the root side of the perforated plate is placed onto a plate carrying pin members, the pins being of a shape according to the desired contours of the tuft tip, penetrating the holes and correspondingly forming each tuft. The individual hairs are thereby displaced with respect to one another in their longitudinal direction and in fact the middle hairs will generally be pushed more and more upwards towards the centre, ultrasonic oscillations or vibrations once again substantially eliminating friction between the individual hairs. Afterwards, the individual tufts retain this shape and, by virtue of the friction which is then fully active between the individual hairs, the tufts cannot fall out of the plate. The perforated plate with tufts formed in this way now has its root side brought into contact with a liquified layer of a binder whereby the root ends of the bristles in each tuft are interconnected.

A continuously perforated plate, the tuft side of which having walls between the perforations which form crests or zenithal lines is preferably guided with the side for forming tufts downwardly and vertically with respect to a hair or bristle bundle-holder. Into the root of the bundle, the bundle-holder, which has a horizontal bottom on which the tips of the hairs or bristles of the bundle can rest, can be arranged such that the perforated plate can be arranged to cooperate with an ultrasonic transmitter. The bundle can thereby be divided into a plurality of tufts and unlike the case of the apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,136,582, where the hairs are applied from above onto the perforated plate located underneath, continuous holes in the perforated plate can be lowered from above onto the bundle. The tuft side of the bundle then can rest on the bottom of the bundle-holder from which direction the ultrasonic vibrations or oscillations are transmitted. The perforated plate can thereby be vertically guided and it is free to move downwardly under its own, correspondingly adjusted, weight. It is advantageous for the inner side walls of the bundle-holder to be widened outwardly towards its edge, corresponding to the conical arrangement or shape of the hairs. Different types of hair, such as weasel, marten and foal hairs, each have a characteristic, substantially conical shape, so that a bundle of hairs tapers conically from the root to the tip. Correspondingly, the holder, on the bottom of which the tips of the bundle of hairs rest, widens towards its rim.

Furthermore, the sides of the holder are preferably provided with axially extending ribs, groove or flutes, so that hairs resting against the walls of the holder could be axially guided and can maintain hairs within the bundle in an axial position.

Furthermore, the root side of the perforated plate is preferably arranged to be lowerable onto a plate carrying pins which correspond to holes in the perforated plate. The free, upper ends of these pins are preferably shaped according to the desired contour of tufts, the shaped pin plate being arranged for cooperation with an ultrasonic or vibration transmitter so that the pins can penetrate the holes and correspondingly shape the tufts. As explained above, under the effect of ultrasonic vibrations, the individual hairs in each tuft can be relatively easily displaced with respect to one another by the pin members until they form the desired contour. However, during formation of the tips, and also during division in a substantially equivalent arrangement, the ultrasonic oscillations or vibrations could be omitted.

Preferably the shaped pins are roughened, fluted or stepped in order to prevent the hairs slipping off sideways.

Furthermore, an upper guide plate having a plurality of downwardly directed mandrels or the like which can be lowered onto the bundle of hairs for laterally guiding the hairs during the formation of tufts can be provided.

For the subsequent fixing using a liquid binder, the shaped tufts can remain in the perforated plate, with the tufts pointing upwards. A heatable plate having a horizontal upper side is preferably provided to receive a layer of liquid binder or adhesive (adhesive plate), so that the perforated plate, with the root end in front, can be moved vertically to contact the root side with the upper side of the layer of binder or adhesive. As already mentioned, the liquid binder can thereby penetrate the root ends of the hairs or bristles. After absorption, the perforated plate can be lowered onto the upper side of the plate carrying binder or adhesive, the binder preferably being squeezed out laterally, except for a thin film.

The solidified tufts can now be ejected from the perforated plate by an ejector plate. On the ejector plate is provided an arrangement of ejector pins corresponding to the perforated plate and so staggered lengthwise that the tufts are not all ejected simultaneously but after one another, in groups. By this lateral staggering of the ejection process, it is possible even for very large perforated plates to be cleared of tufts which have set, without using excessively large loads. Finally, a correspondingly perforated wiper plate is preferably provided on the ejector plate. A film of adhesive which often remains under the perforated plate after adhesion has a tendency, during ejection, to cling between the ejector pins on the ejector plate. This film would rapidly build up into a thick layer. which would gradually render the pins ineffective, if it were not removed. However, the wiper plate can simply be stripped off the ejector plate or the ejector pins, as the case may be. and thereby remove excess binding agent.

It is generally preferred that two or more working stations be arranged about a vertical line so that successive operations can be provided, for example turretwise, moving in succession from one to the other. The entire process for producing tufts of hairs or bristles can thereby be automated. Since the hairs or tufts remain in the perforated plate during the entire process, the apparatus can be of relatively simple construction.

The method and apparatus herein proposed for forming an adhesive-solidified root end for a hair brush tuft can be used to provide a channel through which paint or the like can be introduced into the tuft, for example through a hollow brush handle, and it can be extended relatively far towards the head of the brush.

Brushes have been proposed in which paint can be fed to a bundle of hairs through a hollow brush handle. However, in such proposed brushes, paint, for example, generally does not pass sufficiently far upwardly or outwardly towards the head of the brush. If such hitherto proposed brushes are made short, the elasticity of the brushes or their capacity for stroke action, tend to suffer. Where the brush tufts feed a channel, for practical purposes it should extend through the interior of the base of the brush tuft, so that the paint can be fed through the channel into the head of the brush.

A sharp pin or needle is preferably inserted centrally into each brush tuft either during or before the perforated plate having tufts therein is applied onto the surface of the layer of liquid binder. It is generally preferred to heat the plate with a horizontal surface so as to receive a layer of binder (adhesive plate), the plate having sharp pins or needles arranged to match holes in the perforated plate. The perforated plate is preferably arranged with the ends of the roots vertically movable with respect to the adhesive plate. As the perforated plate is lowered onto the adhesive plate, the pins forming the channel can penetrate the holes in the adhesive plate so that a channel is formed in each tuft of hairs.

The adhesive can then set and the brush tufts can be ejected from the perforated plate by means of an ejector plate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying diagrammatic drawings:

FIG. 1 is a vertical longitudinal section through an embodiment of apparatus for dividing a bundle of hairs or bristles into a plurality of tufts;

FIGS. 1a and lb show detail Ia and a section along line 1blb in FIG. 1 respectively;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the embodiment in FIG. 1 in the direction of arrows II-II;

FIG. 3 is an exploded vertical longitudinal section of apparatus for forming bundles of hairs which are divided in a perforated plate;

FIG. 4ato 4d show various embodiments of shaped pins for use in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of apparatus for applying a liquid resin to bond tufts of hair in a perforated plate;

FIG. 6 is a view, corresponding to that in FIG. 5, of apparatus having channel-forming pins for forming channels in the root of each tuft;

FIG. 7 is a vertical longitudinal section of an embodiment of apparatus for ejecting tufts after they have set; and

FIG. 8 is a plan view of an indexable turret, for use in forming tufts, having four working stations.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A bundle of hairs l is inserted into a perforated plate 3 with the root end 2 being uppermost. The bundle is thereby divided into a number of tufts. During further working stages, namely during shaping in the device shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, and during setting in the device shown in FIG. 5, the tufts of hair remain in the perforated plate 3. The tufts remain in plate 3 until they are finally ejected by the apparatus shown in FIG. 7 as shaped and set tufts.

To start, a bundle of hair 1 is first fed into a bundleholder 4. The bundle-holder 4 is substantially cupshaped, with an upwardly conically diverging inner surface and an encircling flange on its underside or bottom. The inner surface 5 of the bundle-holder 4 widens outwardly towards its rim and it is conical in shape, corresponding to the shape of the bundle of hairs. For lateral guiding of the hairs, ribs are provided on the inner surface 5. This bundle-holder 4 is inserted into a recess in a support plate 6. The support plate 6 with the bundle-holder 4 can be lowered downwardly on vertical guide pins 7 against the pressure of springs 8. In the lowered position, the support plate 6 contacts ultrasonic transmitters or sonotrodes 9 of an ultrasonic generator 10. By means of spring loaded lugs 12 or reversible levers 13 which engage base plate 6 or a sheet metal cladding 11, the base plate can be kept in contact with the sonotrodes 9 against the force of the springs 8.

Vertically guided by the guide pins 7 in bores 14, the

perforated plate 3 can be lowered and thereby placed on the upper side, i.e., on the root side, of the bundle of hairs l. The individual holes 16 in the perforated plate 3 pass through the entire thickness thereof and they are wider on the underside (hereinafter referred to as the tuft side) which is underneath in FIG. 1. The correspondingly tapering portions between the individual holes do not however terminate in sharp edges but are rounded off, each hole terminating in zenithal lines which enclose a hole. In this way, the hairs can be guided funnel-wise into the individual holes. In particular, splitting or further splitting of the hairs can thereby be avoided and the hairs are guided either into one or other of two adjacent holes. An encircling funnel 17 serves to guide the bundle of hairs 1 laterally.

Charged with tufts of hair, the perforated plate in FIG. 1 is rotated through 180 and then inserted into shaping apparatus shown in FIG. 3. The perforated plate 3 with the root side of the bundle 1, which pointed upwards in FIG. 1, downwards is lowered onto a pin-carrier plate 20. The plate 20 has pins 21 corresponding to the holes in the perforated plate 3, the free, upper end of each pin having a shape corresponding to that of the desired contour of the tufts.

When the perforated plate 3 is placed on plate 20, one shaped pin 21 enters each hole 15 and the individual tufts of hair are moved into the desired shape.

This shaping likewise takes place under the effect of ultrasonic vibrations. For this purpose. plate 20 can be inserted into the base plate 22, and plate 22 can then be lowered relative to ultrasonic transmitters 23 of an ultrasonic generator 24. similar to the generator 10 in FIG. 1. The plate 22 is vertically guided by pins 25 against the pressure of a spring 26. The apparatus has a cover 27. The shaping plate 22 is vertically guided by its guide holes 14 on the guide pins 25 which also serve to guide an upper guide plate 28. The upper guide plate 28 has on its underside a plurality of pins or projections which, as the guide plate 28 is lowered, penetrate the bundle of hairs and laterally guide the individual hairs. FIGS. 4a -a' show four differently shaped pins 21a, 21b, 21c and 21d for different shapes of brush. What is important is that the shaping surface of the pins 21 should generally not be smooth but should be roughened or provided, for example, with grooves, ribs or steps. This uneven surface is designated at 29 in FIG. 4. It serves to prevent the hairs sliding downwardly or sideways.

The perforated plate 3, with its root side 18 downwards, is then inserted into apparatus as shown in FIG. 5 in order to secure the root ends of tufts of hair, formed as described above in conjunction with FIG. 3, with a binder. An adhesive plate 30 has a plane horizontal surface 31 which in FIG. 5 is recessed into the plate 30 in order to obtain an encircling rim 32 which is not, however, essential. A thin layer 33 of a liquid resin binder or adhesive is applied to the plane surface 31, and using a heater 34, the viscosity of the layer 33 of binder can be adjusted as desired. The perforated plate 3 is then lowered onto the layer 33 in such a way that the underside or root side 18 contacts the upper side of the layer 33 and so that the bottom edges of the holes 15 and the bottom ends of the hairs come into contact with the surface of the binder. By capillary action, the liquid binder is absorbed into the root ends of the tufts. Residual binder is squeezed out sideways by the perforated plate 3 being fully lowered.

FIG. 6 shows a modified embodiment whereby, prior to setting of the tufts, one central channel is formed in each tuft. For this purpose, the adhesive plate 30 has a pin-carrier plate 47 on which there are channel forming pins 48. The pins 48 pass through corresponding bores in the plate 30 and project beyond plate 30 so that when the perforated plate 3 is lowered onto the plate 30, one pin substantially centrally penetrates each hole in the plate 30, i.e., into each tuft.

Where the bottom ends of the tufts contact the layer of binder 33, capillary action causes the binder to be sucked up. After a suitable setting time, the binder, adhesive or liquid resin solidifies. Finally, the pins 48 are withdrawn from the tufts, and the tufts are ejected from the perforated plate 3, the tufts thus obtained have a continuous channel in the glued root end.

For releasing the pins 48 from the tufts, the plate 30 is vertically displaceable with respect to the pin-carrier plate 47. The pin plate 47 has a plurality of pivotable levers 49, one end 50 of which in each case engages under an edge of the plate 30. When the levers 49 are pivoted about their pivots 51, the plate 30 is raised off pin-carrier plate 47, and the pins 48 are thereby withdrawn from the holes or tufts. It is advantageous during this step for the tufts to be supported from below by the plate 30. Under the pin-carrier plate 47 is an ultrasonic oscillator 52, an active plate 53 of which being arranged to act on the pin-carrier plate 47. The process can be accelerated and intensified using these vibrations. Above the perforated plate 3, having the bundle of hairs 1 therein, is a guide plate 28. On its underside, the guide plate 28 carries a number of rake-like pins 54 which, as they are lowered onto the bundle of hairs l, penetrate the bundle and thus stabilise the bundle and- /or maintain the individual hairs in a substantially ordered position namely, the pins 54 hold the hairs against tilting and twisting in the carrier 3 and prevent hairs from being pushed out of the tufts by pins 48.

After the adhesive has set up, the tufts can be ejected from the individual holes in the perforated plate 3 by means of the apparatus shown in FIG. 7. For this purpose, a fixed base plate 35 has an ejector plate 36 thereon, the ejector plate 36 being provided on its upper side with ejector pins 37 corresponding to the holes in the plate 3. The ejector pins 37 are preferably not all of the same length, but should be staggered in length and grouped. As the perforated plate 3 is lowered, therefore, first the longest and then in succession increasingly shorter ejector pins 37 come into action, so that the tufts are correspondingly ejected in groups. By ejecting the tufts in successive groups, the power required to eject them can be reduced.

Resting on the ejector plate 36 is a wiper plate 46 (FIG. 7) having holes corresponding to the pins 37. The wiper plate 36 can be used to wipe residual glue off pins 37.

Finally, as indicated in FIG. 8, the individual working stations required to effect the described process can be disposed about a vertical rotary column. Mounted on a corresponding machine stand or table 38 is a vertical column 39 about which a ring 40 having four arms 41 is rotatable. At the end of each arm 41 is a working station or a holder for a perforated plate 3. The ring 40 and arms 41 can be indexed from one working station to the next. Each station comprises the tools which cooperate with perforated plate 3. For example, station 42 may comprise the bundle holder and related parts of FIG. 1; station 43 may comprise pin plate of FIG. 3 and associated parts including upper guide plate 28; station 44 includes the gluing desired of one of FIGS. 5 and 6; and station 45 comprises the ejection of FIG. 7. For example, one perforated plate 3 can be charged with a fresh bundle of hairs at station 42 while in the next station 43, a bundle of hairs may be in the course of being formed by a shaping arrangement as shown in FIG. 3. In the next working station 44, a perforated plate 3 having tufts of hair shaped at the preceding station can be coated with binder as shown in FIG. 5 and allowed to set. In the next station, station 45, tufts which have set can be ejected from the perforated plate using apparatus as shown in FIG. 7.

Modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A method of producing tufts of hair or bristles from a bundle of hair or bristles, which method comprises inserting the bundle having a root end and a free end by its root end into holes in a perforated plate whilst ultrasonically vibrating the bundle, contacting the root end of the hairs or bristles with an ultrasonically vibrated pin-carrier plate, the pin-carrier plate having a pattern of pins corresponding to the perforations in the perforated plate and the pins having a profile corresponding to that desired for the tufts, separating the root ends of the tufts from said pins, contacting the now exposed root end of each of the thus shaped tufts with a liquid binder, setting the binder, and ejecting the resulting tufts from the perforated plate using an ejector plate having a plurality of pin members in positions thereon corresponding to the positions of the tufts in the perforated plate.

2. A method according to claim 1 which includes forming a hole in each tuft from the root end before setting of the binding agent applied to said root end, the hole extending axially from the root end of the tuft towards the free end of the tuft.

3. A method according to claim 1 which includes forming said hole by inserting a pointed pin axially into the center of the root end of each tuft at about the same time the liquid binder is applied to the root end of the tufts.

4. Apparatus for producing tufts of hair or bristles, the apparatus comprising: holder means for supporting a bundle of hairs of bristles of uniform length in substantially parallel axially coextensive relation to each other tip ends downwardly and root ends upwardly and with the root end of the bundle exposed; a plate member moveable axially toward the exposed end of the bundle and having spaced apertures extending therethrough for receiving the root ends of tufts of hairs or bristles; means guiding said member toward said holder means while holding said member perpendicular to the axis of said bundle; means for vibrating said holder means ultrasonically and with one side of said member engaging the exposed root end of said bundle whereby the root ends of the hairs or bristles enter the apertures in said member and are held therein in the form of tufts with root ends in said apertures; pin means engageable with the root end of each tuft; means for ultrasonically vibrating said pin means to cause the hairs or bristles of individual tufts to move relatively axially to produce tufts of the desired profile at the ends opposite the root ends; means for applying settable binder to the root ends of the tufts while the tufts are held in said plate member; and means for discharging the tufts from the apertured plate member after setting of the binder on the root ends of said tufts.

5. Apparatus for producing tufts of hair or bristles the apparatus comprising; a bundle holder having an upwardly opening recess to receive hair or bristles, said recess having a side wall and a horizontal bottom, hairs or bristles in said recess having tip ends engaging said bottom and the root ends uppermost and disposed above the top of the side wall, a perforated plate having a horizontal bottom wall and holes extending through the bottom wall of the plate, said holes tapering outwardly in one direction to relatively sharp edges whereby to guide tufts of hair or bristles vertically from a bundle thereof into said holes, means for guiding the plate downwardly in a position of parallelism with said bundle holder toward the bundle holder and into engagement with the root end of the bundle of bristles in the bundle holder with the larger ends of the holes facing the bundle holder an ultrasonic wave transmitter engageable with said bundle holder to vibrate the bundle holder and cause the said root ends of the bristles to enter said holes and form discrete bristle tufts, means for cementing the root ends of the bristles of each tuft together in said perforated plate, and means for ejecting the cemented tufts from the perforated plate.

'6. Apparatus according to claim wherein the said side wall of the recess in said bundle holder inclines outwardly in the upward direction and axially extending ribs formed in said side wall for supporting a bundle of bristles in upright position.

7. Apparatus according to claim 5 which includes means for shaping each tuft prior to cementing thereof, said tuft shaping means including a pin-carrier plate having pins projecting axially therefrom and distributed the same as the holes in the perforated plate, the free end of each pin being of a shape to match the desired contour of the outer end of a tuft, said perforated plate being receivable in a predetermined position on the pin carrier plate with the root end of each tuft at the bottom and with the free end of each pin engaging the root end of a respective tuft, and an ultrasonic wave transmitter engageable with said pin plate to cause the pins to vibrate and thereby shape the tufts engaged by the pins.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein the free ends of the pins have a roughened surface thereon to prevent hairs of bristles from sliding thereon.

9. Apparatus according to claim 7 which includes an upper guide plate with a plurality of downwardly ex tending pointed mandrels thereon distributed the same as said tufts, said guide plate adapted to be lowered on the tip ends of tufts in the perforated plate for opening of the tufts for holding said tufts against tilting and twisting.

10. Apparatus according to claim 5 which includes a plate adapted for being heated and having a horizontal upper face having an upwardly opening recess therein adapted to receive liquid binder, the heatable plate being arranged to be moved vertically relative to the perforated plate with the roots of the tufts in the perforated plate facing the heatable plate for causing the roots ends of the tufts to contact the binder carried by the heatable plate, and the perforated plate being formed for fitting into said recess for squeezing out excess binder from the recess.

11. Apparatus according to claim 5 which includes an ejector plate having pins distributed the same as the holes in the perforated plate, said pins adapted to engage the root ends of tufts in said plate to eject tufts from the perforated plate and to push the tufts out of said perforated plate. certain ones of the said pins being different in length from others thereof whereby respective tufts are ejected from the perforated plate at different times.

12. Apparatus according to claim 11 which includes a wiper plate moveably located on the ejector plate in face to face relation thereto and having holes through which said pins extend and operable to strip binder from said pins by movement of said wiper plate away from said ejector plate.

13. Apparatus according to claim 10 wherein the heatable plate has a pointed pin extending therethrough for each of the holes in the perforated plate and distributed in conformity therewith. one of said pointed pins entering a said hole and penetrating the respective tuft from the root end thereof when the perforated plate and heatable plate are moved toward each other.

14. Apparatus according to claim 13 wherein the heatable plate is perforated to correspond to said pointed pins, a pin-carrier plate disposed beneath the heatable plate and having said pointed pins fixed thereto, said pointed pins extending upwardly through the perforations in said heatable plate, the pin-carrier plate being displaceable with the pointed pins vertically with respect to the heatable plate to insert the pins through said heatable plate and to withdraw the pins therefrom.

15. Apparatus according to claim 14 wherein the heatable plate is arranged to be displaced with respect to the pin-carrier plate whereby the pointed pins are extracted from the tufts, and levers pivoted on said pincarrier plate and having lift arms engaging beneath the heatable plate for moving the heatable plate away from said pin-carrier plate thereby to withdraw the pins from tufts in a perforated plate resting on said heatable plate. l l= 

1. A method of producing tufts of hair or bristles from a bundle of hair or bristles, which method comprises inserting the bundle having a root end and a free end by its root end into holes in a perforated plate whilst ultrasonically vibrating the bundle, contacting the root end of the hairs or bristles with an ultrasonically vibrated pin-carrier plate, the pin-carrier plate having a pattern of pins corresponding to the perforations in the perforated plate and the pins having a profile corresponding to that desired for the tufts, separating the root ends of the tufts from said pins, contacting the now exposed root end of each of the thus shaped tufts with a liquid binder, setting the binder, and ejecting the resulting tufts from the perforated plate using an ejector plate having a plurality of pin members in positions thereon corresponding to the positions of the tufts in the perforated plate.
 2. A method according to claim 1 which includes forming a hole in each tuft from the root end before setting of the binding agent applied to said root end, the hole extending axially from the root end of the tuft towards the free end of the tuft.
 3. A method according to claim 1 which includes forming said hole by inserting a pointed pin axially into the center of the root end of each tuft at about the same time the liquid binder is applied to the root end of the tufts.
 4. Apparatus for producing tufts of hair or bristles, the apparatus comprising: holder means for supporting a bundle of hairs of bristles of uniform length in substantially parallel axially coextensive relation to each other tip ends downwardly and root ends upwardly and with the root end of the bundle exposed; a plate member moveable axially toward the exposed end of the bundle and having spaced apertures extending therethrough for receiving the root ends of tufts of hairs or bristles; means guiding said member toward said holder means while holding said member perpendicular to the axis of said bundle; means for vibrating said holder means ultrasonically and with one side of said member engaging the exposed root end of said bundle whereby the root ends of the hairs or bristles enter the apertures in said member and are held therein in the form of tufts with root ends in said apertures; pin means engageable with the root end of each tuft; means for ultrasonically vibrating said pin means to cause the hairs or bristles of individual tufts to move relatively axially to produce tufts of the desired profile at the ends opposite the root ends; means for applying settable binder to the root ends of the tufts while the tufts are held in said plate member; and means for discharging the tufts from the apertured plate member after setting of the binder on the root ends of said tufts.
 5. Apparatus for producing tufts of hair or bristles the apparatus comprising; a bundle holder having an upwardly opening recess to receive hair or bristles, said recess having a side wall and a horizontal bottom, hairs or bristles in said recess having tip ends engaging said bottom and the root ends uppermost and disposed above the top of the side wall, a perforated plate having a horizontal bottom wall and holes extending Through the bottom wall of the plate, said holes tapering outwardly in one direction to relatively sharp edges whereby to guide tufts of hair or bristles vertically from a bundle thereof into said holes, means for guiding the plate downwardly in a position of parallelism with said bundle holder toward the bundle holder and into engagement with the root end of the bundle of bristles in the bundle holder with the larger ends of the holes facing the bundle holder an ultrasonic wave transmitter engageable with said bundle holder to vibrate the bundle holder and cause the said root ends of the bristles to enter said holes and form discrete bristle tufts, means for cementing the root ends of the bristles of each tuft together in said perforated plate, and means for ejecting the cemented tufts from the perforated plate.
 6. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the said side wall of the recess in said bundle holder inclines outwardly in the upward direction and axially extending ribs formed in said side wall for supporting a bundle of bristles in upright position.
 7. Apparatus according to claim 5 which includes means for shaping each tuft prior to cementing thereof, said tuft shaping means including a pin-carrier plate having pins projecting axially therefrom and distributed the same as the holes in the perforated plate, the free end of each pin being of a shape to match the desired contour of the outer end of a tuft, said perforated plate being receivable in a predetermined position on the pin carrier plate with the root end of each tuft at the bottom and with the free end of each pin engaging the root end of a respective tuft, and an ultrasonic wave transmitter engageable with said pin plate to cause the pins to vibrate and thereby shape the tufts engaged by the pins.
 8. Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein the free ends of the pins have a roughened surface thereon to prevent hairs of bristles from sliding thereon.
 9. Apparatus according to claim 7 which includes an upper guide plate with a plurality of downwardly extending pointed mandrels thereon distributed the same as said tufts, said guide plate adapted to be lowered on the tip ends of tufts in the perforated plate for opening of the tufts for holding said tufts against tilting and twisting.
 10. Apparatus according to claim 5 which includes a plate adapted for being heated and having a horizontal upper face having an upwardly opening recess therein adapted to receive liquid binder, the heatable plate being arranged to be moved vertically relative to the perforated plate with the roots of the tufts in the perforated plate facing the heatable plate for causing the roots ends of the tufts to contact the binder carried by the heatable plate, and the perforated plate being formed for fitting into said recess for squeezing out excess binder from the recess.
 11. Apparatus according to claim 5 which includes an ejector plate having pins distributed the same as the holes in the perforated plate, said pins adapted to engage the root ends of tufts in said plate to eject tufts from the perforated plate and to push the tufts out of said perforated plate, certain ones of the said pins being different in length from others thereof whereby respective tufts are ejected from the perforated plate at different times.
 12. Apparatus according to claim 11 which includes a wiper plate moveably located on the ejector plate in face to face relation thereto and having holes through which said pins extend and operable to strip binder from said pins by movement of said wiper plate away from said ejector plate.
 13. Apparatus according to claim 10 wherein the heatable plate has a pointed pin extending therethrough for each of the holes in the perforated plate and distributed in conformity therewith, one of said pointed pins entering a said hole and penetrating the respective tuft from the root end thereof when the perforated plate and heatable plate are moved toward each other.
 14. Apparatus according to claim 13 wherein the Heatable plate is perforated to correspond to said pointed pins, a pin-carrier plate disposed beneath the heatable plate and having said pointed pins fixed thereto, said pointed pins extending upwardly through the perforations in said heatable plate, the pin-carrier plate being displaceable with the pointed pins vertically with respect to the heatable plate to insert the pins through said heatable plate and to withdraw the pins therefrom.
 15. Apparatus according to claim 14 wherein the heatable plate is arranged to be displaced with respect to the pin-carrier plate whereby the pointed pins are extracted from the tufts, and levers pivoted on said pin-carrier plate and having lift arms engaging beneath the heatable plate for moving the heatable plate away from said pin-carrier plate thereby to withdraw the pins from tufts in a perforated plate resting on said heatable plate. 